Broken Motherboard?

[BigBoss]

Hello!
I'm not sure on where to go about this. I've never had to ask for help, I have always been able to research and troubleshoot my issues, but I just cannot figure out what is wrong with my computer.

I will list my specs at the end.

My Issue: I turn on my computer and nothing is displayed on my monitor.

When I turn on the computer all Fans and LEDs are on. Hard Drive Activity light works. Disk drive can open and close. No beep codes. Graphics card fan spins.

I have checked all wires to make sure they are connected properly and in the right places.

I have taken my RAM out and tried it in another system, the RAM had no problems.

I have tried other graphics cards: Nvidia 8400 GS, Nvidia 7300 GS, ATI HD 3870 HIS.

Backround info: This computer was built in 2007-2008ish. I did not have any problems when I first built it. Few months down the road though, the computer would NEVER turn on the first time. The lights and fans, everything would turn on BUT no display. I always had to turn it off, then back on to get it to display. Once it was on it worked perfectly fine.

Another thing: When I turned on my computer my FAN speeds would start off at 100% then drop to automatic.

Zooming up to the present, of yesterday. I was doing my monthly maintenance on my systems, dusting and cord managing. I wanted to prepare my computer for when I put in a new heat sink and new RAM.

After I plugged everything back in, I went to turn it on but nothing happened. I made sure the switch on the back was switched but still nothing. Then I realized that my Motherboard power light was not on. Great, so I took a 450w PSU from another one of my systems to see if it was my PSU or my Mobo just died.

It ended up being the PSU, the light shined bright green when I plugged in my 450W PSU.

So I took out the PSU, quickly drove the Best buy to grab me a new PSU and to just go ahead and get the new cooler for my processor.

I picked out an 850w Thermaltake PSU, and avoided the Rocket fish ones... (The rocketfish PSU is the one that died, and I think is what was causing me problems)

The Cooler I got was the Corsair H50

I Got home plugged the new PSU into the motherboard and sure enough, the green light was glowing brighter than ever before.

After than I went ahead and hooked up the Corsair H50, it was a little cramped in my case but it fit.


So NOW I went to turn on my system, it turned on just fine, the H50 was running, I could feel the liquid moving, the fans were spinning. everything was plugged into the right places. GPU was plugged in to PSU and connected to the first PCI E slot.

but NO DISPLAY

Nothing, what so ever.

My monitor detects that it is being plugged into something, it works on other computers. but nothing is being displayed from this computer. Not even a beep code.

Here are my specs:


Case: Antec 900
Motherboard: Asus M3A32mvp-Deluxe/wifi
RAM: 4gb, 667 MHz 5-5-5-15 (Not the standard, which is why I wanted to get new RAM)
CPU:AMD Phenom II x4 940 3.0 Ghz
GPU: ATI HD 4870 HIS
Sound: Creative Soundblaster Fatal1ty pro series.
Hard Drives: Raptor 150gb, WD 320GB
Standard DVD RW lightscribe Disk drive.
Power Supply: Black Widow Thermaltake 850w

And now with a Corsair H50 cooler.

I think it may just be my motherboard... maybe a part of it broke while I was cleaning it or something? I am always sure to be grounded. I have the wrist strap.

Help/thoughts/ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

[Psycogeec]

so your This ----> <---- close, been there done that, and so to have you when you installed it the first time .
it aint broke, one of mine wanted to test my resolve before too

reset the bios, for real using the jumper, WAIT for it, let it go through longer to the os, dont get so impatient with it.
use a flashlight and look at your PCI-e and see if that is all seated properly.
got the power pluged into the back of the video card?

did you forget that OTHER power connection that is way up in the corner of the mutha board?

make sure your in the primary monitor slot.

did the keyboard Flash its lights, when it came up?

when that dont work give up, take a break, get some sleep, and come back, the computer case is just trying to get you to buy it more stuff, dont let it fool you
.

 

[BigBoss]

so your This ----> <---- close, been there done that, and so to have you when you installed it the first time .
it aint broke, one of mine wanted to test my resolve before too

reset the bios, for real using the jumper, WAIT for it, let it go through longer to the os, dont get so impatient with it.
use a flashlight and look at your PCI-e and see if that is all seated properly.
got the power pluged into the back of the video card?

did you forget that OTHER power connection that is way up in the corner of the mutha board?

when that dont work give up, take a break, get some sleep, and come back, the computer case is just trying to get you to buy it more stuff, dont let it fool you

I will try to reset the bios using the jumper and post results.

I have made sure that my GPU is connected with two 6 pin connectors.

That power connection in the far corner of my motherboard I have not left forgotten, connected with an 8 pin from my PSU.

I was working on this all day yesterday, then I gave up and here I am back to working with it Thank you for the reply.

 

[BigBoss]

Okay I have used the jumper to try and reset my bios.
It is still not working.

Maybe I didn't do it right but just to check and make sure.

at first I took out the CMOS battery and waited about 20 minutes.

I put it back in and still nothing.

Now I then did the jumper method.

I could not find CLR or clear on my mobo. but I did find CLRTC and I'm guessing that was it?

It had the 3 pins with a jumper on two of them. it was on 1 and 2, so I changed it to 2 and 3.

I was doing this while the computer was still plugged in, but the switch in the back was off. so no green light on the mobo.

I then pressed the on button about 10 times, and waiting about 30 seconds.

I then switched it back, flipped the switch on my mobo, and I'm still getting the same problem No display!

 

[Knufire]

Try moving the GPU to the other PCIe slot, just to check if the slot is bad?

 

[Jmtyra]

Hi BigBoss!
Welcome to the OC Community!

 

[Awptex]

The motherboard may not be seated right try puting together you're system outside of the case, Check the bottom of you're cpu and motherboard if any pins or w.e are broken or missing, Is there a onboard videocard you can try? Any friend's with an extra motherboard or CPU also look for any black around the motherboard to.

 

[Psycogeec]

that is what I had to do next, pull the whole thing back out of the case, even though i had done nothing wrong i swear
then i put it on an electical insulator plastic, on top of the case, so i didnt have to pull the PSU, and went through all the tests again. and finnaly it took 5 freaking minutes to get a boot, and after that it was all happy again.
then i had to test and test and test, after every item i did and slowly test assemble.
i never did find anything wrong. it was just the AI trying to teach me a lesson
mabey i should re-name it SIMONE.

 

[BigBoss]

Try moving the GPU to the other PCIe slot, just to check if the slot is bad?

Yep I did this, still the same results

 

[BigBoss]

that is what I had to do next, pull the whole thing back out of the case, even though i had done nothing wrong i swear
then i put it on an electical insulator plastic, on top of the case, so i didnt have to pull the PSU, and went through all the tests again. and finnaly it took 5 freaking minutes to get a boot, and after that it was all happy again.
then i had to test and test and test, after every item i did and slowly test assemble.
i never did find anything wrong. it was just the AI trying to teach me a lesson
mabey i should re-name it SIMONE.

The motherboard may not be seated right try puting together you're system outside of the case, Check the bottom of you're cpu and motherboard if any pins or w.e are broken or missing, Is there a onboard videocard you can try? Any friend's with an extra motherboard or CPU also look for any black around the motherboard to.

Okay, I will try to build my system out side of the case. Do I just use cardboard? Electrical insulator plastic?? Like the bag the motherboard comes with?


By any chance... When I installed the Corsair H50, I took off the original backplate of my mobo, it was silver on one and with a soft white plastic material on the other side, and just put the H50 back plate. Am I supposed to have both of them on? Just a detail I was wondering about.

That is really the only difference I have made with my system since it was last working, new and BETTER PSU, and Cooler for my processor.

 

[Psycogeec]

Dont use the anti-static plastic , while it has a plastic outside the metalic inside is designed TO conduct power. would be bad, very bad
cardboard fine.

 

[BigBoss]

Hey guys, I'm back and ... well I still have the same problem

I've set up my motherboard on a cardboard box, plugged in the 24 pin and 8 pin like usual. one stick of RAM, and my ATI HD 4870 GPU in the first PCI E slot.

turned it on using a jumper, and still the same results

No display

I tried no ram and there was no beep code.

I also tried another GPU (Geforce Nvidia 8400 GS) in another PCI-e slot, and still no display.

I have looked for black marks and broken pins, none found.

maybe the board was shocked some how? or I might have used to much pressure? just unlucky?

I don't know what is considered a dead board or not, since I have never had one

 

[hi-yield]

CPU?

 

[Trap05]

Sure sounds like a dead board or cpu. My money is on motherboard

 

[BigBoss]

I just remembered I had another CPU I could use, it was my old AMD Phenom 9600 2.3ghz

I still get no display.

Dead motherboard then? any other signs I should look for? I really do not see any broken pins or black marks anywhere.

if my mobo is really dead, looks like its time for a new build, eh?

 

[Trap05]

All you need is a new board your cpu is supported

 

[grndragon57]

Do you have any fan plugged into the CPU fan header on the motherboard? I had an Asus board that wouldn't POST without a fan on the header.

 

[BigBoss]

Do you have any fan plugged into the CPU fan header on the motherboard? I had an Asus board that wouldn't POST without a fan on the header.

Yeah, that tiny 4 pin next to the CPU? I have it plugged in, and the other 120MM fan is plugged into another CPU fan port as well, 'cept is it a 3pin. now I have 3 of these scattered across my mobo. well 2 were near each other and one was just off on its own towards the bottom of my mobo. I tried all 3 and the same results.

 

[Psycogeec]

mabey the motherboard got smoked, when whatever smoked the first PSU.

it just sounded the first time like you just did not have display. and that you had other things going fine.

the "didnt test enough point" looks to be here.
I Got home plugged the new PSU into the motherboard and sure enough, the green light was glowing brighter than ever before.

then you changed something , but did you know if the system booted then?
if
you didnt know it booted
Then
you really didnt know if the PSU itself even worked.
Then
changed the way the cpu heat sync is, adding that to the equasion
Then
changed the 4PIN cpu fan
and or
had to move other componentes in and out to install that.
Endif
therefore you now have to many possibles, which works fine if everything works, and only bites on butt when something was wrong.
.

 

[BigBoss]

mabey the motherboard got smoked, when whatever smoked the first PSU.

it just sounded the first time like you just did not have display. and that you had other things going fine.

the "didnt test enough point" looks to be here.
I Got home plugged the new PSU into the motherboard and sure enough, the green light was glowing brighter than ever before.

then you changed something , but did you know if the system booted then?
if
you didnt know it booted
Then
you really didnt know if the PSU itself even worked.
Then
changed the way the cpu heat sync is, adding that to the equation
Then
changed the 4PIN cpu fan
and or
had to move other components in and out to install that.
Endif
therefore you now have to many possibles, which works fine if everything works, and only bites on butt when something was wrong.
.

Yeah this was def. my fault. I should have checked from the very beginning instead of just assuming it worked

I now have learned my lesson. I troubleshooted everything possible.

Built computer out side of case on cardboard.

Tried each RAM stick
tried them in other computers

Tried different GPUS
Tried different CPUS

tested every PCI slot, different monitors
I do not see any broken pins, or black marks


now,to be honest, I have to admit... during everything I was doing... I don't know if this could be it or not, but I heard a noise when I was installing my graphics card, I may have been to hard on it, and I may have cracked something on the inside =/